Visitors to Our Blog:

Click here to visit "Virtual Sisters," the website for Lael, Nancy and Carroll, self-proclaimed Crusty Old Broads and Deseret Book bestselling authors.

Why Crusty Old Broads?

In our trilogy, "The Company of Good Women," a COB—a Crusty Old Broad—is a woman who, in the face of whatever life sends her way, "pulls up her socks and goes on." We all feel that we’ve pulled up our socks many times!

Who are the Crusty Old Broads?

Nancy Anderson’s writing has taken a back seat to raising five "intriguing" children and being grandma to eleven active grandchildren. Aside from family, her passion is gardening. Her lovely back yard has been the scene of many special neighborhood and family events.

Nancy says, "Writing Deenie’s story has been a delightful way to share my own experiences and the fictionalized stories of women I have known. Many thanks to my loving husband and supportive family."Nancy lives in Sandy, Utah, with her husband, Jim, and her dog, Pepper.

Lael Jensen Littke grew up on a farm in Mink Creek, Idaho, where she herded cows and dreamed of being a writer someday. She would live in a penthouse in New York City and wear glamorous leopardskin pants (Lael saw too many movies).

After graduation from Utah State University, she went to Denver to pursue a career, but instead met a young man named George Littke whom she married. When George received a fellowship to finish his doctoral studies at New York University, Lael knew her dreams were coming true. Forget the penthouse and leopardskin pants. She settled for an excellent writing teacher at City College of New York and before long began selling short stories. When the family, which now included a small daughter, moved to California, Lael found another outstanding writing teacher at Pasadena City College and got started writing novels for young adults and children.

Her credits now include more than 40 books for young people, plus a series of three women’s novels co-authored with Nancy Anderson and Carroll Morris. She says she needs to apply for a life extension because she has at least another 40 book ideas.

Her philosophy can be summed up in this anonymous quotation:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride!”

Carroll Morris says, "I remember I writing some poems in 4th grade. I gave them to my teacher, and she promptly lost them! The short story I wrote in sixth grade fared better: 'The Horse’s Grave' appeared in the grade-school paper, 'The Puppy Dog’s Tale.'"

After that, Carroll’s fledgling writing career went underground for thirty years, until she wrote her first novel. She’s been writing ever since then—fiction and self-help books because she loves them and catalog copy to help put four children through college.

Carroll and husband Gary, retired three years ago to Green Valley, Arizona.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Writing and Weddings

A look through our garden gate the night of the Tropical Twilight Reception.Planning an garden wedding reception and a plotting a novel have a surprising amount in common. Theme, pacing, overall arc, and effect. The theme, both in novel writing and in planning this reception, set the boundaries and demanded certain elements be included or excluded in the overall architecture.

The theme for the wedding reception we hosted in our back yard on June 21, was Tropical Twilight. When we heard, we knew instantly that it would include tiki torches marking the paths, glittering lights on trees, fence lines, and the rocks walls of the garden, and splashy plantings of brightly colored flowers in coral, hot pink, reds, yellows, and purples. Even the menu was defined by the theme, sauteed chicken with peanut sauce, fruited rice, strawberry and spinach salad, and those wonderful Polynesian rolls baked in a sauce of sugar and coconut milk.

We structured the set-up to keep the guests flowing from the reception line to the buffet to the dining set-ups in the three teak wood gazeboes in the middle of the yard and then on to clusters of intimate seating to encourage long conversations and relaxation.

Pacing the activities to keep the energy flowing took as much care as planning peaks in a plot. Start the live music before the guests arrived to entice them in from yard (joined by a side gate) to yard. Cut the cake when there is a lull in the receiving line. (There never was.) Have the bride and groom take their dance early so that everyone will feel free to hit the dance floor (in this case the basket ball court).

And finally, make the ending short and sweet and don't drag out the clean up.

The creative process takes place everyday in our lives. Whether it's in more recognizable ways like plotting a novel, planning a painting, and designing a garden, or in more subtle circumstances; solving a problem, adding missing elements to a relationship, or parenting a child, we thank the good God who made us for imagination, the ability to forcast possible outcomes and the reason to make choices.

I love that picture. That's the way I want my yard to look when I finish it up--in about ten years at the rate I'm going. By the way Carroll, you mistyped the link to your blog when you left the comment on mine. I can't fix it without deleting it, so you might want to, cause the blog it took me to isn't anything like this one. =)

Sister Site

On the Shelves Now!

The long awaited and fourth novel of Carroll Hofeling Morris and Nancy Anderson, Leaning into the Curves is now available at Deseret Book stores and through their online services. www.deseretbook.com

Leaning into the Curves

Molly is happy with her life the way it is, taking the classes she loves and performing with the Fiddling Finleys. But everything changes when her husband, Hank, retires. She's still trying to adjust to this new phase of her life when he brings home a Honda Gold Wing--even though he knows she hates motorcycles! Things go from bad to worse when he joins the Temple Riders Association, a "Mormon motorcycle gang" that combines road trips with temple work.

Faced with the prospect of being left hebind when Hank rides with his rew friends, Molly starts making some changes of her own.
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Leaning into the Curves offers a delightful view of a little-known group of faithful Latter-day Saints. Full of appealing characters and unexpected turns, it gives a new twist to what life can be like after "a certain age"!
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"Funny, touching, and outrageously on the mark. I see a best seller here." Mary McLain

Related Article

Check out Will Some Body Please Explain Retirement to Me by Carroll recently published online, May 19, 2010, under the column line upon line in Meridian Magazine. It's a nice tie in with the book and even features a link to purchase Leaning into the Curves. Mercy! What fun! meridianmagazine.com

"Surprise Packages," third volume in "The Company of Good Women" series

Surprise Packages is the best book of the series! —Erma Carrier-This series is an endearing tribute to women and every kind of love they experience—times three. —Ginger Franz-Click here to purchase, and be sure to stay tuned for the Virtual Book Tour which is coming in August!